Retail transactions such as purchases may be performed with payment instruments such as credit cards or near-field communication (NFC)-enabled smart phones running payment applications. A traditional payment terminal may reside at a fixed location and may have a physical connection to a power source such as an AC outlet. The payment terminal may also be physically connected to a wired communication interface such as a phone line or Ethernet connection. The payment terminal receives payment information such as a credit card number from the payment instrument and communicates with a remote server, such as a payment server, to determine whether the transaction is approved.
Some modernized payment terminals are configured to include one or more battery-operated components. In at least one example, applications running on a mobile device such as smart phone or tablet may provide a user interface to facilitate payment transactions and a communication interface for communicating with the payment server. In another example, a separate payment reader may be used to interface with the payment instrument. The payment reader may be portable and communicate wirelessly with the mobile device. In some instances, the payment reader is battery-operated. That is, in some instances, the payment reader requires charging or replacement batteries.
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